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French President Nicolas Sarkozy has recently sparked a heated discussion with his statements on young criminals with a non-French background in France, threatening to withdraw their French citizenship (or the right to aquire it when turning 18) in the event of violence against state officials. The French minister of interior Brice Hortefeux now brought FGM into this discussion as well, demanding that citizenship also be withdrawn in the case of „symbolic“ crimes that demonstrate an unwillingness to integrate, such as polygamy and female genital mutilation.

„Threatening to withdraw someone’s citizenship is certainly not the answer to this problem, since by definition, all citizens are equal before the law and treating those with an immigrant background differently is simply racism”, says Waris Dirie. “While it is very important to enact strict laws against FGM, and even more important to also execute these laws, FGM should not be used as an instrument to stigmatize people with an immigrant background. I support using powerful means to combat FGM, but this is the wrong approach.“